Invasion of Firestorm Citadel (Part 2)
by IronCladPaladin
Summary: The knights push onward into the castle.


Rioklu had posted a "reward" if the unknown knight would step forward to claim the prize. Of course, proof would have to be given. That same night, Rioklu was writing another entry in her war diary, when she felt a cold presence behind her. She slowly continued to write. Then, in a flash, she threw her chair back, drawing her sword and quickly slashing in the direction of the enemy. She had missed greatly, and now the purple cloaked figure, with determined eyes, was in the back of her tent. She slowly lowered her sword.

"W-who are you?" she asked.

The cloaked one stared at her through the shadows, only their eyes were visible. Then, in a gruff voice, said "Purplewarlord."

Rioklu almost laughed out loud, but managed to hold a serious face and think. It was Purplewarlord, Master of the Shadows, King of the Darkness, or simply the Cloaked One. If he appeared to you, it was either he wanted to thank you, or he wanted to kill you. His main weapon consisted of his very famous Nitronome, and his side weapons include two blazebrand knives. The cloak was his signature. Rioklu was surprised to see that he had joined the war also. This time however, he had come simply for the "reward."

"Oh... I see," Rioklu said. "Of course, I don't know if you're an impostor...so..."

Even as she said that, from the break in his cloak, two fiery red daggers were drawn to the side. His eyes narrowed. It was said that if you looked at his Nitronome, you would be paralyzed and blinded by the light. A faint blue glow started emanating from the cloak. That was all Rioklu needed to be convinced.

"Okay okay here's the reward."

She drew out a colonel's badge, very prestigious. He simply looked at the shining metal, then in the blink of an eye impaled it through with one of his daggers. Rioklu didn't even see his hands move.

"I don't have time to waste, general. Pray that this does not happen again."

In a flash he was gone. Rioklu slumped into her chair, glad that the Cloaked One was... well... not very angry. She fell into a fitful sleep, but was rudely awakened by one of the guards.

"Monsters! They're attacking!" he yelled.

As Rioklu dived out of her tent, weapons in hand, the automated turrets were already firing at a line of slag walkers, oilers, and lumbers that were charging towards the wall. Knights were busy running about, taking firing positions. She ran into the relay tent, Aquasword already there.

"There's about 4,000 of them in this attack. No sign of Trojans yet. We have to efficiently take them down and prepare a counteroffensive. Let's take to the guns!" Aquasword yelled, sheathing his Glacius and mounting a laser gun, firing from the top of the battlements. Rioklu quickly grabbed her Divine Avenger, rushing to support her troops. Bill, a second lieutenant, was commandeering his units to fire at key points in the battle. A wave of lumbers, who had concentrated their formation, had reached the fortifications. They started smashing, and some knights that weren't prepared for the shock fell off the walls. They dropped bombs on the heads of the lumbers, and they quickly fell. The monsters started a retreat, pushing past the giant metal doors, closing it behind them. The knights had organized 6,000 soldiers to pursue them. They marched across the gargantuan courtyard, strewn with dead bodies. The first three lines were equipped with the strongest shields the knights could find. The two lines after them were gunners, to fire from behind their comrades. And finally, four lines of swordsmen were ready to charge forward once the shields fell.

As they drew near, ten gun puppy shotgun turrets opened up, and began firing salvo after salvo. The knights steadily advanced. Once a shield broke, the person would run to the back, and the next shields would come forward. Once they got into firing range, the knights blasted the gun puppies. Rioklu ran out of her lines, showing true bravery and skill as she dodged all the bullets fired at her, back-flipped over a gun puppy, and slashed it in two. With that she turned towards the massive door, and charged her Divine Avenger. It was designed to gather more energy than a regular one, and now she could barely control it as the particles fused themselves into one massive shot. She unleashed the bolt. It smashed into the doors, instantly exploding and throwing bits and pieces of metal everywhere. However, there seemed to be nothing inside...

A team of engineers slowly advanced in, and checked the area for traps. When none were detected, the army entered in section by section, cautiously stepping as they watched fire burn on either side. The whole castle was ablaze, but amazingly it didn't collapse. It was perfect... too perfect. Two secret steel doors slammed shut on either side of the entrance, and the trap was revealed. The remainder of the first slag army along with two thousand others rose from the floor, accompanied by 1,000 lumbers, and fifty gun puppies. New enemies were thrown into the fight: gremlins, more wolves, and the vicious trojans. 10 of them. All chaos broke loose in less that a second. It was a disorganized giant battle. Rioklu attempted to rally her soldiers, but a gremlin hit her in the knee with its axe, so she jumped down to kill it. Aquasword had stayed back at camp, just in case. Then, she met her first true enemy.

A slag walker taller than the rest by two feet, armed with a long spear was standing on a rock, impaling knights left and right. From the crowd a shot of ice blasted it in the chest. With a roar, the walker jumped on top of the knight, quickly stabbing him through with his spear. Rioklu started running towards her nemesis, cutting down any who got in her way. She gained momentum, quickly flipping over a lumber, using its head to gain extra height as her Divine Avenger glowed. She came down, slashing the walker right through the face. It fell back, crying out in agony. Quickly, it jumped back up and flashed the spear at her. She dodged it and trapped the sharp end with her feet, then used her sword to slice it off. It was now a harmless stick... or so she thought.

The slag slammed the metal into Rioklu's helm, causing her to fly back. She jumped up, and a flurry of blows and parries developed between the two. She charged her Divine Avenger, blasting the slag away as it slammed into a wall and slumped down.

"Rioklu! Rioklu! Get out!" a voice yelled over the battle. She turned to see Bill, slashing down a gremlin. She wondered why he was yelling that. Then she noticed. The knights were utterly defeated. Only a handful remained, and they were cornered. Bill and her were the only ones in the middle of a horde of angry monsters. However, there was no escape, for the metal doors blocked their path. Bill cut a small area around them, and Rioklu charged her Divine Avenger again. Ten elite knights surrounded her, stalling for her to blast the doors. The first blast only fractured and splintered both doors. Three knights fell. She charged her second shot. Another knight impaled. The second shot blasts the top off of one door. Four more knights fall. Only Bill and two other remained. She ran forward, smashing a small hole in the door. As she prepared to smash it again, she heard a cry and turned around just in time to see the last elite cut down. Bill hammered a gremlin, shot another that was close to her. By this time, she was panicking in full force, and could barely bring herself to hit the door again. She did it however, and a bigger hole gave her half an exit. It wasn't enough.

"NOOOO!" she yelled, as Bill was impaled with the slag's spear. She just managed to throw her sword out, before the monsters swarmed her and beat her. She blacked out.

*Keep watch for the next part!*


End file.
